Ugly Duckling Presse is an American

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

art and publishing collective based in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York City founded in 1993 by Matvei Yankelevich as a college

zine A zine ( ; short for '' magazine'' or '' fanzine'') is a small-circulation self-published Self-publishing is the publication of media by its author at their own cost, without the involvement of a publisher. The term usually refers to writ ...

. It publishes poetry, translations, lost works, and artist's books. A micro press, the company uses subscriptions, and gathered its early audience with

guerrilla marketing Guerrilla marketing is an advertisement strategy in which a company uses surprise and/or unconventional interactions in order to promote a product or service. It is a type of publicity. The term was popularized by Jay Conrad Levinson's 198 ...

techniques.

History

Ugly Duckling Presse is an American

art and publishing collective located in

, New York City, founded in 1993 by Matvei Yankelevich as a college

In 1995, it expanded to publishing other works and in 2000 it took shape as a collective. A micro press, the company uses distribution methods not traditionally seen in publishing, such as subscriptions, and gathered its early audience with

techniques.

Publications

Ugly Duckling Presse (UDP) focuses on new, international, and "forgotten" writers and specializes in projects which may be difficult to produce at other presses. Formats produced include full-length books,

chapbook A chapbook is a small publication of up to about 40 pages, sometimes bound with a saddle stitch. In early modern Europe a chapbook was a type of printed street literature. Produced cheaply, chapbooks were commonly small, paper-covered bookle ...

s, and

broadside Broadside or broadsides may refer to: Naval * Broadside (naval), terminology for the side of a ship, the battery of cannon on one side of a warship, or their near simultaneous fire on naval warfare Printing and literature * Broadside (comic ...

s. These formats, along with UDP's magazine and newspaper, all contain handmade elements. The Presse states that these, "call attention to the labor and history of

bookmaking A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays off bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds. History The first bookmaker, Ogden, stood at Newmarket in 1795. Range of events Bookm ...

". Past publications include ''Nets'' by Jen Bervin,

erasure poetry Erasure is a form of found poetry or found object art created by erasing words from an existing text in prose or verse and framing the result on the page as a poem. The results can be allowed to stand ''in situ'' or they can be arranged into lin ...

of Shakespeare's sonnets, ''Poker'' by

Tomaž Šalamun Tomaž Šalamun (July 4, 1941 – December 27, 2014) was a Slovenian poet who was a leading figure of postwar neo-avant-garde poetry in Central EuropeColm Tóibín (2004The comet's trail Guardian and an internationally acclaimed absurdist. Martín ...

(which was a finalist for the

PEN Award for Poetry in Translation The PEN Award for Poetry in Translation is given by PEN America (formerly PEN American Center) to honor a poetry translation published in the preceding year. The award should not be confused with the PEN Translation Prize. The award is one of many ...

) and works by New York-based writers Steve Dalachinsky and

Lewis Warsh Lewis Warsh (9 November 1944 – 15 November 2020) was an American poet, visual artist, professor, prose writer, editor, and publisher. He was a principal member of the second generation of the New York School poets,; however, he has said that � ...

. The Presse also publishes a regular series of translations of Eastern European poetry. Publications include works by Czech poet

Ivan Blatný Ivan Blatný (; 21 December 1919 in Brno, Czechoslovakia – 5 August 1990 in Colchester, United Kingdom) was a Czech poet and a member of '' Skupina 42 (Group 42). Life Blatný, the son of the writer Lev Blatný, was a member of the ''Skupina 42' ...

and Russian conceptualists

Dmitri Prigov Dmitri Aleksandrovich Prigov (russian: Дми́трий Алекса́ндрович При́гов, 5 November 1940 in Moscow – 16 July 2007 in Moscow Lev Rubinstein Lev Semyonovich Rubinstein (russian: link=no, Лев Семёнович Рубинштейн) is a Russian poet, essayist, and social activist. He is a founder and member of Moscow Conceptualism. In 2020, UDP published their Pamphlet Series, which ''Cleveland Review of Books'' called it "rigorously ephemeral, resolutely partial." As of 2007, Ugly Duckling Presse also created "paperless" works in collaboration with various visual and performance artists. These may be performed, or produced through media such as digital video, CD, or tree bark.

Premises and personnel

The Presse maintains a workshop and

letterpress Letterpress printing is a technique of relief printing. Using a printing press, the process allows many copies to be produced by repeated direct impression of an inked, raised surface against sheets or a continuous roll of paper. A worker comp ...

studio in the Gowanus neighborhood in the industrial complex of The Old American Can Factory on the Fourth Street Basin of the

Gowanus Canal The Gowanus Canal (originally known as the Gowanus Creek) is a canal in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, on the westernmost portion of Long Island. Once a vital cargo transportation hub, the canal has seen decreasing use since the mid-20 ...

in Brooklyn. Its current editors, as of 2021, are Katherine Bogden, Yelena Gluzman, Chuck Kuan,

Anna Moschovakis Anna Elizabeth Moschovakis is a Greek American poet, author, and translator. Early life Moschovakis was born to an American mother and a Greek father. She split her time growing up between the U.S. and Greece, where her father owned what she ...

, Michael Newton, Daniel Owen, Emmalea Russo, Kyra Simone, Rebekah Smith, and Matvei Yankelevich. Past editors are Abraham Adams, David Jou, Phil Cordelli, G. L. Ford, Ellie Ga, Ryan Haley, James Hoff, Marisol Limon Martinez, Filip Marinovich, Julien Poirier, Linda Trimbath, and Genya Turovskaya.

References

External links

Ugly Duckling PresseUgly Duckling Presse in The New York TimesInterview with Ugly Duckling PresseUgly Duckling Presse in The Brooklyn Rail
{{US-publish-company-stub Book publishing companies based in New York City Publishing collectives Publishing companies established in 1993 Poetry organizations Literary editors 1993 establishments in New York City

History

Publications

Premises and personnel

See also

References

External links